/ Research
Designer cells: artificial enzyme can activate a gene switch
Complex reaction cascades can be triggered in artificial molecular systems: Swiss scientists have constructed an enzyme than can penetrate a mammalian cell and accelerate the release of a hormone. This then activates a gene switch that…
/ Research
Tiny implants for cells are functional in vivo
For the first time, an interdisciplinary team from the University of Basel has succeeded in integrating artificial organelles into the cells of living zebrafish embryos. This innovative approach using artificial organelles as cellular…/ People
Sarah Keller wins 2017 Albert Hofmann PhD Award
Sarah Keller, a 4th year PhD student in the group of Professors Housecroft and Constable, has won one of the 2017 Albert Hofmann PhD Awards for Excellence in Research./ Research
The Vitamin Ergothioneine: An Antioxidant for Oxygen-Free Areas?
Chemists at the University of Basel have been able to show for the first time that anaerobic bacteria can produce the vitamin ergothioneine in the absence of oxygen. This suggests that bacteria were forming this compound even before there…
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Nanocapsules Enable Cell-Inspired Metabolic Reactions
Researchers at the University of Basel succeeded in developing capsules capable of producing the bio-molecule glucose-6-phosphate that plays an important role in metabolic processes. The researchers were able to produce the metabolite in…/ People
Thomas Ward wins Royal Society of Chemistry award
Basel chemist Thomas Ward, Professor of Bioinorganic Chemistry at the University of Basel and Director of the NCCR Molecular Systems Engineering, is the Royal Society of Chemistry Bioinorganic Chemistry Award winner for 2017.
/ Research
Researchers Imitate Molecular Crowding in Cells
Enzymes behave differently in a test tube compared with the molecular scrum of a living cell. Chemists from the University of Basel have now been able to simulate these confined natural conditions in artificial vesicles for the first time.…